A funny thing happens when you buy a new house…everyone wants to come and see it! Now don’t get me wrong, I love having guests, especially since we don’t know many people in our new town yet, but sometimes you get a text that guests are on their way and the house is a hot mess. And if I’m going to be honest, since we are still finishing up our renovation, that sometimes is MOST of the time. So when guests give us a heads up, these are the six things I do to make the house look put together, even though its not!

1. Enlist help. Give everyone a task to do. This makes the work go so much faster and honestly I don’t like to be the only one running around when I’m not the only one who makes the messes.
2. Wash the dishes. A sink full of dishes is a total eyesore! Throw those dishes in the dishwasher, so enlist the help of a kiddo to dry while you hand wash. This job will be done quickly, but will make the kitchen look 100x better!
3. Remove clutter from all surfaces that guests will see. This is not the time to start folding the pile of laundry in your bedroom, but if that pile of laundry is smack in the middle of the living room, get it out of there! Take a minute to get those piles of letters off the dining room table or those toys off the kitchen floor. Put things back in their place, or in they don’t have a space, move them elsewhere until you have the time to deal with them. Just a quick pick up session will make a huge difference.
4. Wipe down bathroom surfaces. Our hallway bathroom is also the main bathroom for Alex, so more often than not you can find toothpaste splatters on the counters. A quick swipe will leave the counters shining and ready for guests to use.
5. Make it smell good. A yummy candle or some essential oils in a diffuser can make your space smell fresh and inviting. I love citrus scents in the spring and summer and more spicy scents in the cooler months.
6. Make sure your floors are clean. We just put in new hardwood floors in the whole house. I am obsessed with how great they look, and they are one of the things that guests first notice and comment about when they enter our home. This is why when someone is coming over, you better believe that I make sure the floors are looking their best. Confession time: I have not used a mop and bucket combination consistently, well ever. I feel they are cumbersome, time consuming, make the floors too wet and don’t do that great of a job when it comes to cleaning. Instead, I turn to Bona to keep my floors looking their best. In our old apartment, I used the Bona for tile and laminate floors, but once the hardwood went down in our new house I went out and bought every Bona item that I could find and I have not been disappointed yet. When I am short on time, I turn to Bona’s quick clean system. The Bona microfiber mop head is larger than competitors’ leading to 40% faster cleaning. I start with Bona Disposable Dusting Cloths with their3D fiber design to sweep and lock away dust, dirt and hair. Then I use the Bona Hardwood Floor Wet Cleaning Pads, infused with Bona’s Original Formula, to quickly clean dirt and grime. Best of all, Bona Quick Clean products leave the floor clean with none of the residue other products leave behind. Not to brag or anything, but I can get the floors in the whole house from crackers crumbs to clean in less than 15 minutes.

I hope these tips help get you guest ready in a flash!

What’s your best ‘get ready for guests quick’ tip?

The post 6 Way to Get Your House Guest Ready appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Getting kids to help out with cleaning isn’t always the easiest feat, but I am a firm believer in “if you live in this house, you need to help keep in clean.” Even with help, we still struggle to keep our house clean (understatement of the year), but we have found ways to make chores more enjoyable and more importantly, get done quicker. Since lots of people have Spring cleaning on their minds, I thought it would be fun to share some strategies that have worked for us in the ever uphill battle of keeping our house clean. A special thanks to Bona for helping us love all of the floors in our home with their new Stone, Tile, & Laminate Cleaner.

• Don’t make cleaning up optional. If given the option, I know that I definitely would not clean the house. If I could wait for someone else to come along and clean, I wouldn’t lift a finger. Set tasks that belong to your child and keep them accountable. If chores aren’t done, set consequences.
• Turn chores into a challenge. Set a timer and give your child 15 minutes to get something done. Ask them to organize everything by color or in alphabetical order. They will get it done much faster than they would otherwise and it will make it much more exciting for them!
• Make chores age appropriate. You can’t expect a 4 year old to do laundry, but even young children can have tasks that are their responsibility. Toddlers are capable of cleaning up their toys after playing or putting their clothing in the hamper at bed time. You know your child best. You know what kinds of chores they will be capable of completing now, and what kinds of things may take a few more years.
• Praise, praise, praise. When your child completes their chores, tell them you are proud of them for their hard work or for getting everything done so quickly. If you feel like you need to correct them on something they did, make sure you praise them first and give them suggestions on how to make it better next time second. Hearing criticism when you tried your hardest can be discouraging. 
• Give them a choice. The choice isn’t to clean or not to clean, but what they would like to do first, that day, etc. When given a choice, 9 times out of 10, Alex will choose to mop the floors (which conveniently is one of my least favorite tasks!). Ever since we received our Bona Stone, Tile, & Laminate Cleaner mop, I have all been dreading cleaning the floors less. The Bona system is super easy to use -you just spray the premixed solution and mop! The quick-drying solution leaves no sticky residue, meaning that there won’t be tons of footprints all over your freshly mopped floors! Bona used to be available only for hardwood floors, but their new Stone, Tile, & Laminate Cleaner is designed specifically to be safe for use on hard surfaces including stone, tile, laminate and luxury vinyl. It makes cleaning floors a breeze and its specially designed degreasing formulation effectively removes dust, dirt and grime leaving your floors clean and beautiful.  It is also Greenguard Gold certified which means its safe for the whole family, even your four legged friends.

  

  I hope that our tips helped make your Spring (and everyday) cleaning a little easier and more fun! To pick up some Bona Stone, Tile, & Laminate Cleaner for yourself, head to their website and show your floors some love!

The post 5 Ways To Get the Kids To Do Their Chores appeared first on Frolic Through Life.